The Habs made a minor trade on Monday, announcing that they’ve traded winger Sean Farrell to Anaheim in exchange for winger Sasha Pastujov.
Pastujov was a third-round pick by the Ducks back in 2021, going 66th overall. He was a prolific scorer in the OHL, putting up 41 goals and 57 assists over 60 games in his final season back in 2022. That was good for fourth in league scoring.
While the 23-year-old hasn’t been able to produce at that level in the minors (few ever do), Pastujov has been a strong producer since turning pro. He had 16 points in a dozen ECHL games and aside from that, he has played exclusively in the AHL with San Diego. Last season, he led the Gulls in scoring with 21 goals and 36 assists in 71 games, bringing his overall numbers at that level to 48 tallies and 77 helpers in 160 contests.
Despite the offensive success in the minors, it has yet to materialize into an NHL opportunity for Pastujov. He’s currently a restricted free agent and will clear waivers to be sent to Laval in the fall if he doesn’t make Montreal’s roster out of training camp. If he makes it to the Rocket, he projects to be a top-line player for them.
As for Farrell, he was a fourth-round selection by Montreal back in 2020, going 124th overall. The undersized forward had a strong college career and made the jump to the NHL at the end of the 2022-23 season, getting into six games with the Canadiens where he had one point, a goal.
However, since then, the 24-year-old had exclusively played with the Rocket, generally as a top-six winger for them. Last season, he had 17 goals and 36 assists in 72 games, bringing him up to 46 goals and 79 helpers in 186 AHL appearances.
Farrell, also currently a restricted free agent, cleared waivers last season in training camp and projected to do again. As a result, that slotted him in seventh among left-shot wingers in our prospect rankings, as well as 36th overall; those articles have yet to be released and will now be revised to add Pastujov into the mix.